Pop/Indie Vocalist & Producer

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: My biggest tip is to constantly be "zooming out" and "zooming in", not in a literal DAW window sense but in terms of going back and forth between thinking about the big picture and the individual components. It really helps my workflow to alternate between these perspectives so that I don't get too stuck on nitpicking (I like to save the nitpicking for last!) or losing inspiration by rushing to see something as as the sum of its parts.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: I always tell people I primarily work on music "under the pop umbrella", but really I'm a bit of a Jill-of-all-trades! Since I work out of a small home studio and have a very DIY mindset, I tend to work on a lot of electronically produced music somewhat out of convenience, but also because so many of my inspirations contain electronic elements. I really like pushing the border of what constitutes the "pop umbrella", having worked on songs that veer toward rock, EDM, and even folk/country.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I don't have perfect pitch but I have a savant-like knack for pitch and melody which has impressed collaborators and music teachers since I was a small child. It took me some time to figure out how to best make use of this skill (besides fooling my childhood piano teacher into thinking I could read music when really I was just regurgitating from memory what she had played the previous lesson). I have found that it is particularly useful in writing melodies and harmonies as well as tuning vocals quickly and effectively. I also have been working recently to harness this ability to better my mixing and mastering ability.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I think one of my greatest strengths is that my contributions can be helpful in pushing a song to be either a little grittier OR a little more polished--in other words, I love the challenge of cleaning up a song that has strong concepts and performances but is perhaps missing some remaining elements to get it sounding radio-ready, but I also find that I can be a really valuable asset in adding a little "je ne sais quoi" to a concept that is feeling basic or boring.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: As a self-employed freelancer, I have to be very diligent about being my own boss. I treat my freelance music work as I would any other day job, settling into my studio in the late morning and working (with a lunch break) until 6 or 7pm. When I'm producing a song from scratch, I tend to start with harmony or melody, often drawing from my massive library of breaks to inspire a groove before finalizing drums. As far as writing goes, I'll typically listen to someone's track several times and record an improvised topline before adding lyrics and recording final vocals.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I produce and engineer in Ableton on a 2021 MacBook Pro, running audio through a UAD Apollo Twin console and recording vocals primarily on an AKG C414 studio microphone. I have a number of instruments I use in my production process (as well as a huge library of samples and plug-ins) including an Arturia Polybrute synth and several electric and acoustic guitars.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: My biggest musical heroes include Prince, Cocteau Twins, Stereolab,

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: Recently my paid projects have mostly centered on writing, performing, and processing vocal toplines remotely for existing tracks. I have a fully acoustic treated home studio equipped with state-of-the-art vocal recording gear. I am an experienced producer who has produced and engineered a number of tracks on spec for myself and other artists and would love to be doing more paid work of this nature.